Federation Klingon War (alternate timeline)
In an alternate timeline, the Federation-Klingon War was a major conflict between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets that started in the 2340s and lasted until 2366, following the deterioration of relations between the two powers. Origins and overview The alternate timeline in which the war was fought had been created when the essentially disappeared into a temporal rift in 2344, while defending a Klingon outpost on Narendra III from a Romulan attack. This incident caused a breakdown in the negotiation of a peace treaty with the Klingons, and outright war ensued for the next twenty-two years. By 2366, the war was going very badly for the Federation, far worse than most Federation citizens knew. Despite Starfleet emerging victorious from several battles – including one at Archer IV – forty billion lives had already been lost and Starfleet Command believed that defeat was inevitable within six months, leaving the Federation with no choice but to surrender. Half of their fleet had been lost, and all vessels were being pressed into service, regardless of age. :According to startrek.com, multiple Klingon battle cruisers were defeated in the engagement at Archer IV. A tactical map of the war was displayed in the captain's ready room aboard the , a warship which was under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and was capable of carrying over 6000 troops. Owing to the war, no children lived aboard the ship. For the Federation, the conflict also resulted in rationing of food due to concentrating power on defensive systems, and considerable advancement of deflector shield technology which increased the endurance of ships when in battle. Prelude to conclusion In 2366, on combat date 43625.2, the Enterprise-D encountered a radiation anomaly near Starbase 105, the same anomaly which the Enterprise-C had entered. The battle-damaged Enterprise-C then emerged from the anomaly, with 125 surviving officers on board. Shortly thereafter, Starfleet monitor stations detected a fleet of Klingon battle cruisers heading towards the two Enterprise''s, news which the stations relayed to the ''Enterprise-D. Although Captain Picard and Commander Riker from that ship arranged the salvaging of the Enterprise-C so Starfleet could make use of the newly returned vessel in the war, it was imperative for the Enterprise-D not to remain where it was for too long, due to the approaching Klingon fleet; Picard allowed nine hours for repairs. As the work progressed, Picard's personal confidante, the El-Aurian Guinan, who had somehow been able to intuitively sense the change in timeline, warned him that the war was not meant to be taking place and Picard realized the Enterprise-C's defense of the outpost was the pivotal point which would have prevented the conflict. Enterprise-C commanding officer Captain Rachel Garrett ordered the repairs to her ship to be focused on the craft's photon torpedo launcher rather than the vessel's warp drive, due to the desperation of the Federation's war effort. It was expected that the pair of Enterprise''s would soon be engaged in battle, as Klingon warships had been detected in the same sector as them, by this time. Captain Garrett advised her crew to prepare to remain in the war, as the Federation was in desperate need of another ship to oppose the Klingons, but Picard planned for the ''Enterprise-C to return to the past from whence it came. He confidentially revealed to Garrett the truth of how badly the Federation was suffering in the conflict and how, by traveling back in time, the Enterprise-C could eliminate the war. These details convinced her to take the vessel back through the rift in order to restore the intended timeline, in spite of the near-certain prospect of the ship's immediate destruction. Unexpected attack Shortly after Captain Garrett advised her crew that their vessel would be journeying back into the past, a Klingon bird-of-prey quickly decloaked and opened fire on the Enterprise-C. On that vessel's bridge, the assault came as an unexpected series of jolts. The Enterprise-C's shields were raised and the ship initiated evasive maneuvers with Gamma Sequence, preparing to return fire with phasers. ]] The Enterprise-D repeatedly fired phasers at the Bird-of-Prey, which was off its starboard bow. At least two of the Enterprise-D's phaser bolts struck the Klingon ship's starboard shielding; the first of these hit the starboard wing and the second battered against the bow. Concentrating fire on the Enterprise-C, the Klingon ship fired a disruptor volley at it. :Although a view of firstly the Enterprise-D firing two phaser bursts at the Bird-of-Prey and then the Klingon craft firing a pair of disruptor bolts at the Enterprise-C was included in the episode, these actions weren't in the installment's final draft script. The Enterprise-C retaliated with phaser fire. On the bridge, Captain Garrett ordered the loading of her ship's torpedo bays but, moments later, she was hit with debris and fell to the deck, dead. :Much to the puzzlement and amusement of Michael and Denise Okuda, rocks were used in the footage that shows Captain Garrett's death. Ronald D. Moore also found this funny and thought "a good question" is why they're there. (Yesterday's Enterprise audio commentary, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray) Garrett is mortally wounded]] The Enterprise-D returned fire on the Bird-of-Prey with three phaser shots which again hit the Klingon ship's starboard shields. The Bird-of-Prey next re-cloaked and Captain Garrett's death was reported to Captain Picard and the Enterprise-D. Its Ambassador-class predecessor had sustained moderate damage in the fracas and a piece of shrapnel had become lodged in Garrett's forehead. :Director David Carson once characterized Garrett's fatal wound as a "wonderful piece of expressive makeup which described the grisly nature of the war." (Yesterday's Enterprise audio commentary, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray) Interim In the aftermath of the battle, Lieutenant Richard Castillo, formerly the helmsman of the Enterprise-C and now the only surviving member of the vessel's senior staff, volunteered to take command of the ship. The Enterprise-D detected additional instability in the temporal rift, which was possibly a result of the recent battle. Though there was no sign of other Klingon ships in the vicinity, it was now vital for the Enterprise-D to depart the area, because the vessel's coordinates had clearly been sent to the Klingon Command. Final preparations were made for the Enterprise-C to get under way, with Castillo in command and its tactical station manned by Lieutenant Tasha Yar, a tactical officer who voluntarily transferred from the Enterprise-D. The Galaxy-class warship's long-range scanners meanwhile picked up numerous Klingon battle cruisers on an intercept course. Consequently, the Enterprise-D began to slowly head towards them. :In the final draft script, the news of approaching Klingon battle cruisers is reported by Wesley Crusher, at the Ops station on the Enterprise-D's bridge. The scene is set approximately fourteen minutes, thirty-one seconds before the crafts are due to arrive. Picard orders a red alert and the manning of all the ship's battle stations. As the script continues, the Enterprise-C is described as also being at red alert status, with all damage control teams having returned to the Enterprise-D. The Ambassador'-class vessel raises its shields and charges its weapon systems. In the episode, however, the announcement of the nearing Klingon ships is included in a supplemental military log entry spoken by Captain Picard and the rest of the scripted scene's details were excluded from the episode. As the Klingon ships approached, the Enterprise-D was able to distinguish them as a trio of confidently uncloaked Birds-of-Prey. :In the final draft script, Commander Riker states that the Enterprise-D "won't last long against" as many as three of the Klingon battle cruisers. The script implies Captain Picard is aware of this fact, too. Contrastingly, Riker's pessimistic line isn't in the episode's final edit. Readying his ship to return to battle conditions, Captain Picard orated a ship-wide message in which he stated that, though the Enterprise-D could obviously outrun the Klingon fleet, the crew had to ensure the Enterprise-C's protection until it entered the time rift. Picard also gave encouragement to his troops; the last engagement was about to begin. :In the final draft script, Picard addresses his message to merely the bridge crew, rather than the entire ship. During the scripted version of the speech, he even admits, "''We may not survive." However, the script description of the speech ends by saying, "If this were a few centuries earlier, a cheer would go up."'' The final battle Bird-of-Prey opens fire]] As the Klingon warships proceeded steadily nearer the Enterprise-D at low velocity, they were arranged with two ships following a lead ship which was at the center forward position and opened fire with a series of twinned disruptor bolts. Ceaselessly continuing the approach, the starboard Bird-of-Prey soon joined in with the onslaught, firing similar blasts. :In the final draft teleplay, only the lead Klingon vessel is scripted as attacking at this point in the fray. The Enterprise s shields came under heavy fire but nonetheless held. The ship changed course, then launched a simultaneous array of five photon torpedoes grouped in dispersal pattern Sierra, which spread out in mid-flight and synchronously zeroed in on a particular Klingon ship from various angles. The torpedoes caused moderate damage to their target's forward shields. Another blow was delivered to the Enterprise, whose shields held despite receiving minor damage to its secondary hull. As the targeted Klingon vessel maneuvered across the Enterprise s primary hull on the starboard side, the other two Klingon warships opened fire with a pair of disruptor shots from each craft. :This assault was not scripted in the final draft teleplay. Aboard the Enterprise-D, Captain Picard then set a course change, which he soon corrected. After the craft detected that one of the Klingon warships was heading for the Enterprise-C, Picard ordered the Galaxy-class vessel be kept within 200 kilometers of the departing Starfleet craft. :In the final draft script, it is Riker who initially sets the change of course and no course correction is made immediately thereafter, with only the second of the two headings given. When Picard subsequently issues the instruction for the ''Enterprise-D to maneuver in order to protect its Ambassador-class progenitor, the captain additionally instructs that the previous course change, having been set by Riker in the script, be belayed.'' The Enterprise-D therefore started to move, at two thirds impulse speed, roughly between the Enterprise-C and its attacker. The Klingon assaulter rained two pairs of disruptor volleys against the Enterprise-C's shields. In its role as protector, the Enterprise-D fired two phaser bolts at the Klingon opposer, both of which struck the antagonistic warship; the first hit the bow whereas the second walloped the starboard wing. Another couple of disruptor shots were fired from the Klingon warship, this time hitting the Enterprise-D's shields dead center and causing the bridge to shake violently. :The on-screen exchange of fire, at this point, is not detailed in the final draft script. The teleplay merely describes the Enterprise-D maneuvering to protect its forebear from the Klingons, then the violent impacts perceived on the Enterprise-D bridge. The Enterprise-D was now beginning to suffer considerable stress. Damage control teams were required on and sent to deck fourteen, the ship's starboard power coupling was no longer working and there was an imminent danger of losing antimatter containment. The Klingon warships were concurrently flanking the Galaxy-class ship, trying to draw it away from its Starfleet kin. On Captain Picard's instruction, the Enterprise-D kept its course and released continual bursts from all its phasers, targeting multiple directions. One of the phaser streaks punched through the shields surrounding one of the Klingon vessels and resulted in its destruction; the defeated craft erupted in a huge explosion, through which another Klingon ship flew. :The final draft script doesn't specify that, when the ''Enterprise-D fires all its phasers, they were to have been emitted in various directions. Also, the teleplay omits the sight of a second Bird-of-Prey flying through the detonation of the exploding ship. Denise Okuda referred to the view of the Enterprise-D firing all its phasers, in myriad directions, as "a cool shot." (Yesterday's Enterprise audio commentaries, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray)'' Four massive jolts were then registered on the bridge of the Enterprise-D, a crewman being thrown from his post, which sparked, during the second thump. :Contrastingly, at this stage in the final draft script, no casualties are described. Afterwards, there were heavy casualties in the secondary hull, the navigational sensor array was broken and antimatter containment failure was looming. The ship shuddered twice more and the shields were starting to buckle. In engineering, another bang caused a coolant leak in the engine core. :The final draft script includes two explosions in the engine core, instead of only one. Riker's deceased body, lying on the bridge]] Owing to the coolant leak, a warp core breach was unavoidable and chief engineer Geordi La Forge estimated a duration of two minutes until it happened. Following an additional explosion, crew members began to evacuate engineering. The ship shuddered even more. Fortunately, the Enterprise-C was merely fifty-two seconds away from entering the time rift. Captain Picard instructed all of the Enterprise-D's remaining power to be diverted to the defense systems. The forward phaser banks were no longer responding and, on the bridge, another eruption threw Commander Riker from the tactical station to the deck, killing him with a bloody gash at his neck. A Klingon commander demanded the crew of the Enterprise-D surrender and prepare to be boarded. These orders were followed by repeated pounding of the craft. :Originally, this scene was to have involved a brief cameo appearance by the alternate timeline's version of Worf, dressed in Klingon regalia and demanding the Enterprise-D's surrender via viewscreen. Because finances didn't allow for the construction of a set for use as a Klingon bridge, the viewscreen appearance became a voice-over instead. (Yesterday's Enterprise audio commentary, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray) The final draft script describes the scene thus; "''A Klingon voice is heard on the com (possibly Worf)." Executive Producer Rick Berman didn't want to use Worf for the scene, so the audio was performed by someone other than Worf actor Michael Dorn. Ronald D. Moore and Ira Steven Behr later agreed with one another that the cameo might have seemed too "cute." (Yesterday's Enterprise audio commentary, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray)'' Softly but defiantly, Captain Picard answered, "That will be the day." He then jumped over the wooden handrail to assume the controls at the tactical console. :The final draft script instead gives Picard's soft reply as, "''Like hell," and doesn't detail how he moves to the tactical station. The line, "That'll be the day," was a tribute, by Ira Steven Behr, to John Wayne. (Yesterday's Enterprise audio commentary, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray)'' Picard fired a phaser streak along the underside of a passing Klingon craft, but, as flames started to engulf the bridge of the Enterprise-D, the ship was pummelled by the two remaining Klingon vessels, which closed in on the Enterprise-D. Moments later, the Enterprise-C managed to finally enter the rift, eradicating the war from the timeline by returning to the craft's own time. :The script refers to this firefight as "another round of combat in a long and hard war" and characterizes the battle, at least by the end, as "raging." The Klingon vessels involved in the combat weren't scripted to be Birds-of-Prey (and are nowhere referred to in dialogue as such) and are described as using phasers rather than disruptors. The visuals of the battle show Birds-of-Prey firing disruptors, however. In the viewpoints of Ronald D. Moore and Ira Steven Behr, this encounter was the largest battle sequence TNG did for quite a while. David Carson recollected, "''This was very, very effective because of its complexity. Its complexity in all areas was great. And so, once again, in the battle scenes at the end, the great Star Trek crew came to the fore and made them all happen within the time ... that had been scheduled." Yesterday's Enterprise audio commentaries, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray) Seth MacFarlane was highly impressed with the battle sequence, considering it the first episode-ending action set piece he had ever seen and one that not only worked well but still does, "beautifully" so. Agreeing, Brannon Braga called the battle footage "cinematic." ("Inside the Writer's Room", TNG Season 3 Blu-ray) Denise Okuda and Ron Moore were under the mistaken impression that the battle sequence includes Geordi La Forge doing a humiliating "unnecessary roll on the floor," in Moore's words. (Yesterday's Enterprise audio commentary, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray)|With the conclusion of the war, Ron Moore and Ira Steven Behr hoped to pay homage to "last stand" movies in which, at the end of the film, all the heroes were defeated or nearly so, with a final noble sacrifice made. A particular influence was the film Bataan, in which a World War II platoon is decimated. Regarding how he pitched this idea to the writing staff, Behr recounted, "I said, 'The thing we're gonna do is we're gonna kill all the actors. In this alternate universe, everyone's gonna die. " Though the writing staff had been angry because they had to work on the Thanksgiving holidays, the notion of having all the main characters killed at the end of the war intrigued and excited the writing staff. ("Resistance is Futile, Assimilating Star Trek: The Next Generation, Part Two: Technological Distinctiveness", TNG Season 3 Blu-ray) Major fans of last stand movies, Behr and Moore were very eager to develop particularly gory death scenes for all the senior officers aboard the Enterprise-D. "It was a chance that we thought we'd never get to do with the ''Star Trek cast .... We wanted everyone to go down blazing," stated Behr. For example, he and Moore imagined Data being electrocuted, Wesley Crusher being decapitated and Commander Riker being mutilated, with his throat cut. In fact, the only senior officer who the writers didn't plan to have die was Captain Picard. Moore noted, "''It was going to be almost like the beginning of ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine, issue 13, p. 23) Behr explained, "At the time, we thought, you know, we were gonna be able to film all of those deaths." Due to budget and time constraints, though, most of the death scenes were very quickly edited out of the story, leaving only Riker's demise. The remaining footage, in common with Captain Garrett's death scene, used rocks as debris. (Yesterday's Enterprise audio commentary, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray) As a result of the other death scenes being omitted, Behr and Moore felt betrayed and disappointed. At the time, they suspected the reason most of the death scenes had been deleted was that the producers felt leaving them in would be too depressing for the audience. (Yesterday's Enterprise audio commentary, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray)|The concept of Picard defiantly standing and firing repeatedly at the end of the battle was, in Ira Steven Behr's words, "a direct steal" from the film Bataan. Behr recalled how he suggested the concept to the writing staff; "I said, 'It's like the old World War Two movie ''Bataan, where the defenders are killed off, one by one. The movie with the last man standing at his machine gun with the enemy coming at him until the smoke from his gun obscures the screen.' I told them, 'At the end, we'll have Picard alone, firing phasers in the smoke of the burning bridge, and that's how we'll go out. " (''Star Trek: The Next Generation 365, p. 137) Behr also remembered, "I said, 'The last thing we'll see is Picard standing. He won't have a machine gun .... It's not quite the same, but he'll be hitting buttons, you know, firing phasers.' And everyone got, kind of like, revved up. 'Okay, that's cool. " ("Resistance is Futile, Assimilating Star Trek: The Next Generation, Part Two: Technological Distinctiveness", TNG Season 3 Blu-ray) Even though this scene made it into the episode's final edit, Behr was ultimately disappointed that there's nothing for Picard to fire with in the scene apart from the flat tactical console. The fire on the bridge was represented using a small fire bar. "In fact, the implication is that it [the ''Enterprise-D] is within seconds of being destroyed," David Carson pointed out. (Yesterday's Enterprise audio commentaries, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray) In September 2001, Star Trek Magazine rated the climatic moment as the seventh greatest moment in Star Trek. Aftereffects Affected by the events of the alternate timeline, Guinan finds herself curious about Tasha Yar and asks Geordi about her. One other remnant of the timeline survived: the alternate Tasha Yar, who had journeyed aboard the ''Enterprise-C into the prime timeline. Category:Wars Category:Alternate timelines Category:Federation conflicts Category:Klingon conflicts